Zofia Wanda Leśniowska (''née'' Sikorska; 2 March 1912 – 4 July 1943) was the daughter of Lieutenant-General

Władysław Sikorski Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (; 20 May 18814 July 1943) was a Polish military and political leader. Before World War I, Sikorski established and participated in several underground organizations that promoted the cause of Polish independenc ...

. She was a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

(''

porucznik Porucznik (Por.) is a rank of the Polish Army, roughly equivalent to the military rank of the First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of ...

'') in the

Polish Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland (, ; abbreviated SZ RP), also called the Polish Armed Forces and popularly called in Poland (, roughly "the Polish Military"—abbreviated ''WP''), are the national Military, armed forces of the Poland, ...

. She died together with her father in the

controversial Controversy (, ) is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin '' controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opp ...

1943 Gibraltar B-24 crash.

Biography

Zofia Leśniowska, born on 2 March 1912, was the daughter of Lt. Gen. Władysław Sikorski and , whom Sikorski married in 1909. On 30 September 1936 she married engineer Lt. Stanisław Leśniowski (1904 - 11 December 1987). She was active in the

Polish Red Cross Polish Red Cross (, abbr. PCK) is the Polish member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Its 19th-century roots may be found in the Russian and Austrian Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. On regaining its ind ...

, and known for her passion for

horse riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding ( Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

broke out, on 7 September 1939 Lt. Gen. Sikorski ordered her to organize a

resistance movement A resistance movement is an organized group of people that tries to resist or try to overthrow a government or an occupying power, causing disruption and unrest in civil order and stability. Such a movement may seek to achieve its goals through ei ...

. Her apartment on Górczewski's Street in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

was used for a conspiracy movement. In January 1940 she was called as an emissary to France, and travelled as an underground courier, smuggling various documents. She was her father's personal secretary, coder, interpreter and advisor. She was decorated with the order of the Polish Red Cross; this was her only war time distinction. From 16 November 1942 to 18 February 1943 in London she was a superintendent of the Women's Auxiliary Service. She was killed, together with her father and nine others, when their plane crashed into the sea 16 seconds after takeoff from

Gibraltar Airport Gibraltar International Airport, previously known as North Front Airport, is the civilian airport that serves the British overseas territories, British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The runway and aerodrome is owned by the Ministry of Defence ...

at 23:07 on 4 July 1943. Her body was never found.

Death and remembrance

The deaths of General Sikorski and Zofia remain something of a mystery. Her presence alongside the General in those tragic days is associated with controversy and misunderstandings. It has been speculated that instead of dying in the crash, she was abducted and imprisoned in the Soviet camps near Moscow, and later in the interior of the country where she was allegedly seen by Polish officers, including

special agent In the United States, a special agent is an official title used to refer to certain investigators or detectives of federal, military, tribal, or state agencies who primarily serve in criminal investigatory positions. Additionally, some special ...

Tadeusz Kobyliński. Such speculations, however, remain in the realm of

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...

, and as noted by

Roman Wapiński Roman Wapiński (8 March 1931 in Nowa Wieś – 14 May 2008 in Gdańsk) was a Polish historian, lecturer at the University of Gdańsk. He specialized in the history of the Second Polish Republic and right-wing National Democracy political camp, bei ...

in the

Polish Biographical Dictionary ''Polski Słownik Biograficzny'' (''PSB''; Polish Biographical Dictionary) is a Polish-language biographical dictionary, comprising an alphabetically arranged compilation of authoritative biographies of some 25,000 notable Poles and of foreigner ...

, it is presumed Zofia died alongside her father in what was just an accident.

Biography

Death and remembrance

References

Further reading